2006 UCD Triathlon Race Report
The first race of the year is always an adventure. Something is always left at home, nerves are on high alert, and there is never enough time to get to the porta potty.
Since I didn't have the foresight to enter pre-race day, I was getting put in wave 5 (10:40am). Not that I minded, but I got there at 7am and it was going to be a long time before I havign to be race ready. On the positive side I had plenty of time to walk around and say hi to folks I hadn't seen in a while and chew the fat. I also got to do something I hadn't done in 2 years, go on a warm-up run with Jamima. For those who don't know, Jamima and I did a lot of run training together, and it was nice to do that again. (I had to tell her to slow down!).
Swim: I found out the Dave Campbell hadn't shown up so I was able to move into his pre-reg wave 3 (9:40am) thanks Dave! I actually didn't know the swim had been increased to 750yds until race morning, and even though the extra yrads were going to hurt, I knew my muscle memory could still help me fake it. Also, being in wave 3 meant that I was with Sinclair and Cary, and reading from their race reports, they were both gunning for me! Everything was going fine until I lost count around the 600yd mark. I was ahead of the guy next to me by about a body length, so I slowed down enough to let him lead into the end or last turn (I didn't know). Well he flipped and so did I. Wrong move, we were on our way to an extra 50! By the time we got back to the wall 2 athletes were already running down the deck into T1. My only hope was to practice as I preach and blaze a transition. Mission accomplished, out of T1 first!
Bike: After I was in my shoes and onto Old Davis road, I knew this would be long bike. Even though my winter coat was getting in the way of my aero position, I knew my only goal was to hold off Sinclair until the run. As you know by now, he caught me with about 5-6 miles to go, and told him that he was now the leader of our wave. My incentive now was to stay with him. He got about 30 second ahead of me up until the rail road crossing. Just as I said, long bike. The crossing gates came down right before I got there and I had to do circles until the train passed. Oh well, into T2 I went thinking about how the run would feel.
Run: I soon found out why I had to run after every bike workout, my calves hate me! At this point I am just thinking of Brad Kearns and his book about enjoying the experience and the result, or in my case the end, will come. When I saw Cary at the turn around I knew I was in trouble. She was looking great and with her new super low body fat and striated shoulders, I had no hope of staying with her as she cruised by! As I got to the finish line I saw my wife and two boys waiting for me, and for those of you without kids, it is pure joy to cross the finish line with them! Smiles from ear to ear!
I have to say that this race was a great kick start to my season, and it was nice to see our town putting on such a good event. I am excited about the up and coming Mad Cow training races as well as a possible future Mary James Productions race.
See you all at the next meeting!